Fellas,
I just pulled the trigger on a new Hammer C3 31 Comfort. Really excited about getting back into woodworking after a seven year break!
After laying out the 1-car shop space for the shop in my 3-car garage, it became clear that I didn't have enough room for separates. I initially tried to get a Hammer A3 31, only to find it's on back order for 6+ months. They had a Hammer K3 sliding table saw in stock, but the slider was only 31" long, I quickly realized that I wouldn't be getting the benefit of the slider for much of my planned projects. However, they had a C3 31 combo machine in stock locally and at just the right size. I've watched enough videos to see that switching between jointer-planer to saw work is not a biggie. The big hit comes when I want to use the shaper. At this stage as I near retirement, I'm in less of a hurry and want to enjoy the process of woodworking, so I decided to pull the trigger.
Hammer has a pretty comprehensive package as part of their sale on the machine. I knew what I wanted, as I used to own a couple of Felder machines. To my surprise, those extras were pretty much what I was looking for. Upgrades included in the discounted package deal are:
- 80" slider and outrigger
- Spiral cutter block on the 12" jointer planer
- scoring unit with blades
- precision miter index system (exactly sets common angles with a pin)
- prep for dado
- Various shaper goodies, including upgraded precision fence system, 1-1/4" spindle, and a 1/2" router collet
- mobility kit
I added a couple of extras that I will use frequently:
- shorty crosscut fence for smaller work
- a couple of table extensions, one for slider and one for saw outfeed or planar outfeed
- digital planer thickness readout in the handwheel
First project will be a lot of fun and will be putting this beast through all the paces. It's a large armoire for my daughter to hang her clothes in. I have a beautiful stash of African mahogany, including some nice figure for the raised panel doors. One piece of wood is just over 11" wide and another is 9", perfect for the capacity of this machine. I'll get a ton of work on the shaper, jointer-planer, and will make full use of the 80" slider stroke. I kinda wish I had a bandsaw, as I need to book-match resaw the doors. I may pay the local lumberyard for this, as all but 4 cuts can be done on the slider. I'm keeping my eyes open for a used bandsaw.
I'm most excited about learning to use the shaper, as I've had a fair amount of experience with the rest.
I'm in the process of moving, so I won't be able to set up the shop for over a month. In the meantime, I'll have to settle for Norm Abrams re-runs
Cheers
Todd